Oscars delayed to April

LOS ANGELES — The 2021 Oscars ceremony was moved to April from February on Monday due to the havoc caused in the movie industry by the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony for film’s highest honors will take place on April 25, 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement. It had originally been scheduled for Feb. 28. The coronavirus epidemic shut down movie theaters worldwide in mid-March and brought production of films to a halt. The Academy also extended the deadline by which movies must be released in order to be eligible for an Oscar nomination to Feb. 28, 2021, from Dec. 31, 2020. The production shutdown meant that many filmmakers feared their movies would not be finished by the usual year-end Oscar eligibility deadline. Dozens of other movie releases have been moved to 2021. — Reuters